Debunking Common Myths about Service Recovery

Carol Santalucia, Vice President, CHAMPS Patient Experience

Even with great service, occasionally customer expectations are not met. True service excellence comes when a negative customer experience is empathetically addressed and turned into a positive one. This concept is at the heart of true service recovery. Frequently, healthcare providers skim the surface of true service recovery by offering a token to an angry customer. While their intention may be a sincere, the effect is often perfunctory. This session will debunk this and other common myths about service recovery, including:

1. It’s only for the patient.
2. It costs too much money.
3. It should be handled centrally.
4. It’s hard for frontline staff to learn.
5. It takes too much time.

In addition to debunking these common myths, this session will outline the steps necessary to develop and implement a robust service recovery program including a strong infrastructure, critical skill-building for leaders and staff and a solid sustaining plan.